A Man Called Ove

This one hit me right in the feels. Having recently lost my mother this story had a poignancy that really hit home, but was beautifully balanced by a gentle and heartfelt humour. The titular Ove is a man who has just lost his wife and his job. He cannot see the point in his life and is trying to find a way to end it, but keeps on getting interrupted by his neighbours. He is a bit gruff and to begin with somewhat unlikeable but as you get to know him you cannot help to soften towards. As he exasperatedly helps his neighbours and decries modern society he starts to find a new set of companions that he thought he had lost.

There are so many aspect of my parents and grandparents hidden in this story. Ove and the rest of the characters end up so relatable that you cannot help but fall in love with them. It brought repeated smiles to my face, despite its hard hitting and personal depths. As far as stories of love and loss go I have never read anything better. I ended up feeling both sad and uplifted at the same time, an impressive feat.